One of the most well-known Australian engagements of the Vietnam War was the Battle of Long Tan, 18 August 1966. The battle saw the action of 108 ANZACS against a Viet Cong (North Vietnamese) force estimated between 1,500 and 2,500. The Battle was one of the heaviest conflicts of the Vietnam War as well as one the few battles in the recorded history of the world to be won against such odds. Vietnam Veterans Day, celebrated in Australia on 18 August each year, commemorates the Battle of Long Tan and those Australians who served during the Vietnam War and is an opportunity to remember those who did not come home. The Vietnam War was the longest war Australia was ever involved in. Australian involvement in the Vietnam War was marked by controversy and significant levels of public opposition to conscription and concern about casualties. The Vietnam War was also the first war witnessed live on television. On the night of 16/17 August 1966, the Viet Cong fired a barrage of shells into Nui Dat, wounding 24 Australians. Prior to this event, the Australians had become aware, from radio intercepts and sightings, that a large enemy force was operating close to the base. Australian patrols sent out specifically to find the Viet Cong had not encountered the force. On 18 August, D Company, 6 RAR Battalion, numbering 105 Australians and a three-man New Zealand artillery team, was sent into the Long Tan rubber plantation, all coming under heavy machine-gun fire and mortar attacks from Viet Cong - estimated to be at least 1,500 and possibly 2,500 troops. D Company commander, Major Harry Smith, requested resupply of ammunition and troop reinforcements by helicopter(9 Sqn RAAF), which was supplied. After almost three hours of intense fighting by D Company, reinforcements from A Company arrived in armoured personnel carriers (APC). Ammunition was distributed and the wounded were tended. Early in the evening, B Company also arrived and engaged the Viet Cong. Soon after that, seven APCs arrived, having risked skirmishes with the Viet Cong along the way. The extra fire-power finally stopped the Viet Cong, and all firing ceased. There were 18 Australians killed - 17 from D Company and one from the 1st Armoured Personnel Carrier Squadron - and 21 wounded. The Viet Cong insurgents left 245 dead and many more wounded. In later years, it was found out that D Company had run into a reinforced regimental force waiting to attack Nui Dat. We also Remember the RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam (RTFV) - a new unit brought into existence at Butterworth on 20 July 1964. Three DHC-4 Caribou Mk 1 aircraft flew into the airfield at the coastal city of Vung Tau, 60 kilometres south-east of the capital, Saigon, on 08 August 1964, to establish a RAAF presence in South Vietnam which would last until February 1972. After flying up to Saigon’s airport at Tan Son Nhut on 10 August, the crews began flying their first operational missions in the Vietnam War four days later. A second batch of three aircraft and the additional crews and ground staff to operate them reached Vung Tau by 29 August. On 1 June 1966, the RFTV was renamed 35 Squadron. The Katherine Sub-Branch RSL is holding a Remembrance ceremony on the 18th of August at the Katherine Memorial from 6 pm, and welcomes all, especially Vietnam Veterans to attend.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 20:54:46 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015